Squeegee cleaning tool



Nov, 7, 1939. H. sn-:MUND 2,179,223

SQUEEGEE CLEANING TOOL Filed July 10, 1937 48 lg INVENTOR Herman eman' Bl i RNEY l 1 Patented Nov. 7, 1939 UNITED STAG SQUEEGEE CLEANING 'liUULHerman Siemund, Chicago, lll.,

6 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to improvements in cleaningtools especially adapted for use in the cleaning of floors, windows andthelike, and it has particular relation to a cleaning tool of thesqueegee type consisting of an elongated channel-like frame or holderhaving one or more wiping blades of fabric, rubber, rubber and fabric,felt, etc., removably secured therein.

The conventional devices of the character described, which are found inextensive use at the presentytime, consist of an elongated channellikeholder having a flexible wiping blade made up of one or more strips offlexible wiping material tightly secured therein by means of machinebolts or other similar fastening means mounted on the holder andextending through perforations made along one edge of the iiexiblewiping strips.

The conventional devices hereinabove identified have a great manydisadvantages. all of which are being obviated by the presentinvention.V For example, the perforations in the ilexible wiping stripsfor receiving the `securing means actually materially weakens the stripsand consequently greatly shortens the actual operating life thereof,Aconsiderable strain is placed on these flexible wiping strips when theholder is being `squeegeed over the surface being cleaned, which strainquite frequently causes the securing means to tear through the materialwhich has been weakened bythe perforations. When this happens theflexible strips are rendered unfit for further use, and must be replacedsince they can no longer be firmly secured in the holder. Another greatdisadvantage of these conventional devices is that the perforationsprevent reversal of the flexible wiping strips when the original wipingedge becomes worn or otherwise rendered uniit for further use.

Still another disadvantage of the present conventional holders is thatdealers in such devices are required to maintain extensive stocks ofvarious sizes of measured and perforated replacement strips forreplacing worn out blades of holders of various makes and/or sizes,which require diiferent types of strips and differently spacedperforations. If a dealer does not carry a supplyof ready made blades instock, then in order to satisfy the purchasers of such devices he mustcarry rolls of uncut stock material from which he must personallymeasure, perforate and lit the required replacement strips. The ytime,trouble, patience and risk involved in making accurately spacedperforations to fit a parte Greenview Manufacturing Company, Chicago,lill., a corporation of Illinois Application .liuly l0, 1937, Serial No.152,906

assigner ticular holder makes such replacement business highlyunattractive, and especially when consideration is given to the smallvalue of such sales.

A further objectionable feature of the conventional devices, wherein thesecuring means is mounted transversely and vertically of thechannel-like holder, is that the position of the securing meansfrequently causes the latter to engage and snare the chamois skins usedto clean the flexible wiping edge periodically, thereby damaging thesame by tearing and materially shortening their normal and useful life.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device of asimple and inexpensive construction that will enable the owner to firmlysecure one or more flexible strips of wiping material therein withoutnecessitating the perforation of said strips to receive the fasteningmeans.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a cleaning deviceof the character described wherein the flexible wiping strips may bereversed when the original wiping sidel has become damaged or worn,thereby greatly increasing the operating life of the wiping element.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cleaning device which isadapted to receive and secure the exible wiping element withoutrequiring any accurate measuring and/ or punching for securing the samein said holder.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cleaning device of thecharacter described which has its securing means mounted in such amanner as to obviate the possibility of snaring or otherwise damaging achamois skin when the same is being used to clean the wiping element.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cleaning devicewherein the number of L iiexible strips used to form the wiping elementmay be varied without impairing or injuring the usefulness and/orefficiency of the holder.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device of thecharacter described which will permit the use of strips of flexiblewiping material of various thicknesses without requiring adjustment ofthe securing means to compensate for such variations.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a holder of thecharacter described wherein the flexible wiping strips are rrnly clampedand locked therein by a wedging means which is mounted entirely withinthe elongated receiving channel of the holder, and which requires notools for fastening or releasing the wiping element therefrom.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention reside in thedetailed construction of the holder, which result in simplicity, economyand efliciency, and which will be apparent from the followingdescription, wherein several preferred forms of embodiment of theinvention are shown, reference being had to the accompanying drawing,forming a part thereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning device constructed inaccordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the device shown in Fig, 1, the samebeing taken substantially along the line 2-2 thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, perspective view of the clamping orwedging bar shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View (similar to Fig. 2) of a cleaningdevice constructed in accordance with the invention, and illustrating amodiiied form of clamping or wedging bar being used in connection withthe holder of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view (similar to Fig. 2) of another modifiedform of cleaning device constructed in accordance with the invention,and illustrating a spring steel clamping or wedging bar requiring noseparate securing means.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, wherein like numerals indicatelike parts, there is shown an elongated metal channel-like holder orframe member I0, substantially of U-shape construction, having anoutwardly and upwardly transversely extending long upper or top arm I2,an outwardly transversely extending short lower or bottom arm I4, and aconnecting back portion I6, said arms I2 and I4 extending outwardly in aslightly diverging direction thereby forming a channel like opening I8therebetween of diminishing dimensions progressively inwardly toward theback portion I6 thereof. A clamping or wedging bar 2l) and a pluralityof flexible strips 22, which comprise the wiping element, are adapted tobe removably mounted in the channel-like opening IE of the holder IIJ.

Mounted intermediate the ends of the top arm I2, by spot-welding orother suitable means as indicated at 24, is a handle receiving socketmember 23, which is provided with a hollow tubular portion 28 having anexternal locking ring 3U. The hollow tubular handle portion 28 isadapted to wedgingly receive an extension handle member 32, such as amop handle or' the like, for manipulation of the holder 5U in cleaningsurfaces beyond the normal reach of the operator.

The connecting back portion I6 of the U- shaped frame member Ill isprovided with a series of longitudinally spaced apertures 34 adjacentthe upper edge thereof and just below the juncture of the upper arm I2for receiving the securing means.

The clamping or wedging bar 20 is of U--shape construction, having arelatively wide back portion 35 as compared to its projecting arms 38and 4l), is adapted to be mounted within the channel-like opening I 8.It will be noted that the projecting arm 4l! of the bar 2li is shorterthan the arm 38 thereof, and that the arm 4l) is provided with a seriesof longitudinally spaced internally threaded openings 42, the spacing ofthe openings 42 correspond to the spacing of the openings 34 in the backportion I6 of the frame member II! so that when the bar 20 is properlypositioned in the frame member I0 the openings 34 and 42 may be broughtinto alignment. The securing means, which may consist of a machine screwor bolt 44 is mounted through the openings 34 of the back portion I6 ofthe frame member I0 from the back side thereof so that its threadedshank projects into the channel-like opening I8. Thereupon, theprojecting ends of the bolts 44 may be threaded into the internallythreaded openings 42 of the arm 40 of the bar 2Q to engage the same.When the clamping members 29 and 20a are in their clamping positions, asshown in Figs. 2 and 4,

respectively, it will be noted that the threaded ends of the securingmeans or bolts 44 passes entirely through said clamping member andterminates within the channel thereof, thereby preventing these threadedprojecting ends from coming into contact with and snagging the chamoisskins. The width of the clamping bar 29 is less than the width of theprojecting upper arm l2 of the frame member I0 against which it isadapted to slidably operate on the arms 38 and 4l) when mounted withinthe channel-like opening i8 by means of the bolts 44.

The flexible wiping element, which may consist of one or more strips ofsuitable flexible material 22, is manually positioned in thechannel-like opening I8 between the outer surface of the back 36 of theclamping bar 20 and the inner surface of the lower arm I4 of the framestructure Ill with its inner side edge abutting the back portion I6thereof, as best shown in Fig. 2. While only two strips of flexiblematerial 22 of different widths are shown secured in the holder I@ ofthe drawing, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that thenumber of such strips to be used, the thickness of such strips, etc.,may be varied at will without affecting the operation of the clampingmeans. Therefore, it is to be understood that the exible strips 22 maybe varied at the discretion of the operator without departing from theutility of the holder or from the spirit of the invention.

While it is believed that the assembly of the holder is quite obviousfrom the foregoing description, the same may be briefly summarized asfollows: The bolts 44 are manually positioned in the openings 34 of theback portion I6 ,of the holder I ll from the rear side thereof so thattheir threaded shanks will project into the channellike opening i8. TheU-shaped clamping bar 20 is positioned in the channel-like opening I6with its projecting arms 38 and 4I) engaging the underside of the toparm I2 of the holder I0, the arm 4l) having the internally threadedopenings 42 being positioned adjacent the back I6 of the holder lll.While the clamping bar 20 is maintained in this position, the openings34 and 42 being in proper alignment, the screws 44 may be partiallythreaded into the openings 42 until the clamping bar 2U is securedloosely within the channel-like opening I6 of the holder Ill. Theflexible strips 22, comprising the wiping element or blade,A may now bepositioned within the channel-like opening I8 between the back 36 of theclamping bar 2|] and the inside surface of the adjacent lower arm I4 ofthe holder I0, and with the inner side edge of said strips 22 contactingthe back portion I6 of said holder It. In this position the screws 44may be tightened, thereby drawing the clamping bar 20 inwardly of thechannel-like opening I8 toward the back l of the holder I0. Since theouter FOI projecting arm 38 of the clamping bar 20 is longer than theinner arm 40 thereof, and since the channel-like opening I8-narrows asit approaches the back portion I6, it follows that any inward movementofthe clamping bar 20 transversely of the channel-like opening I8 willcause the back 36 Vof `the clamping bar` 20 to approach the arm I4,thereby wedginglyor clampingly locking the flexible strips 22therebetween.

`In the modied construction shown in Fig. 4 the elongated channel-likeholder lila is of iden- `tical `construction to the holder Il] in Figs.1 and 2, but the clamping bar 20a is of slightly differ-l entconstruction. The clamping bar 2M is made of spring steel, and is of aU-shaped construction having outwardly diverging arms 46 and48 of equallength and a` connecting back portion 49 provided with longitudinally`spaced internally threaded, apertures 42`for receiving the bolts `44which comprise the `securing means. In this modification it will benoted that the clamping bar 20a is mounted telescopically or in a nestedposition within the frame member Illa, and that the flexible strips 22,which comprise the wiping element, are secured in the manner heretoforedescribed between the arms 48 and I4.

In the modification shown inFig. 5, the out wardly projecting top arm I2of the elongated channel-like holder Ib is provided with a relativelyshort integrally formed projecting ange 5l), which extends downwardlyfrom the top arm I2 adjacent the outer edge thereof and inwardly of thechannel-like opening I8 of the holder Iilb. A U-shaped spring steelclamping bar 2th, having outwardly diverging arms 54 and 56, which are`slightly shorter than the distance between the back portion I6 of theholder Illb and the downwardly projecting ange Ell, is adapted to beused for removably` clamping or wedging the exible strips 22 within theholder Ib. In the operation of this modied form of device, the flexiblestrips 22, comprising the wiping element, are first positioned in thechannel-like opening I8 von top of the arm I4 of the holder ilb withtheir back edges contacting the back portion i6 thereof. The clampingbar Zlib is now ready to be inserted in position in channel-like openinglli, and this may be manually accomplished by merely pinching theoutwardly extending arms 54 and 56 together, thereby compressing thesame into a form whereby it may be readily slipped i into the opening I8between the top of the strips 22 and the underside of the top arm i2behind the flange 5D. When the clamping bar 2th is properly positioned,the compression may be released and the arms 54 and 56 will tend tosepa-- rate and return to their normal expanded position, whereupon thearm 54 will become locked behind the flange 5l! and the flexible strips22 will become tightly and firmly clamped by the expanding pressure ofthe spring steel clamping bar Zlib between the arm 55 and the arm i4 ofthe members Zlib and Iilb respectively. To release the flexible strips22 from the holder Itlb, the arm 54 of the clamping bar Elib iscompressed until it is below the flange bil, whereupon it may be removedfrom the channel-like opening It) in any suitable manner therebyreleasing the wiping element.

It is obvious that in the above constructions it is possible to vary thethickness or number of strips of ilexible material 22 comprising thewiping element without diiiiculty or loss of eficiency, and that newstrips may be readily prepared from a roll of stock material merely bycutting the same to length, thus the necessity of making precisionmeasurements and punching accurately spaced holes to correspond to thespacing arrangement of the clamping bolts has,

been eliminated. It will be further apparent that, when one side `of theflexible strips 22 becomes worn through use, they may beeasily andquickly reversed in the frame structure and the opposite edge thereuponused, the worn or damaged edge having no effect on the clamping orsecuring means whatsoever. Manifestly, the normal and useful life of thewiping element of the present holder is doubled, thereby greatlyreducingthe actual operating cost of the device. Furthermore, dealers insuch devices need no longer carry large and expensive stocks of readymade wiping blades for replacement purposes, or continue the unprotablepractice of making and retting new blades. It will also be noted that inthe modifications shown in Figs. l to 4, in-

clusive, the securing means is mounted in the back of the frame memberII), thereby removing the danger of snaring or tearing the chamoisskinwhen the same is used in cleaning the flexible wiping edge, and that inthe form shown in Fig. 5 the securing means is mounted entirely withinthe channel-like opening.

Although I have only described in detail several modifications which theinvention may assume, it will be readily apparent to those Skilled inthe art that the invention is not so limited, but that various. othermodificationsmay be made therein without departing from the spiritthereof or from the scope of the appended claims.

` What I claim is:

l. In a cleaning device of the character described, an elongated wipingelement, an elongated U-shaped holder therefor, an elongated U- shapedclamping member adapted to be mounted entirely within the channel ofsaid holder, and securing means mounted in the back of said holderhaving a free end for engaging the clamping member and moving ittransversely along one arm of said holder for wedgingly securing saidwiping element therebetween, the free end of said securing meansterminating within the channel of said clamping member.

2. In a cleaning device of the character described, an elongated wipingelement, an elongated channel-shaped holder therefor having outwardlydiverging arms of unequal length, an elongated channel-shaped clampingmember adapted to be slidably mounted entirely within the channel ofsaid holder and along the longer arm thereof, and means for engagingsaid holder and clamping member for wedgingly securing saidwipingelement between said clamping member `and the shorter arm of saidholder, said securing means having one end terminating within thechannel of said clamping member.

3. In a cleaning device or the character described comprising anelongated U-shaped supporting structure having outwardly projecting armsforming a longitudinally extending receiving channel, a U-shapedclamping member having outwardly projecting arms of unequal lengthforming a longitudinally extending channel, and securing meansengageable with the back of said holder and the shorter arm of saidclamping member for securing the wiping element wedgingly therebetweenwhen the clamping member` is moved transversely of the channel of saidsupporting structure. i

4. In a cleaning device of the character described comprising anelongated U shaped supporting structure having outwardly diverging armsof unequal length forming a longitudinally extending receiving channel,a U-shaped clamping member having outwardly projecting arms of unequallength forming a longitudinally extending channel, said clamping memberadapted to be slidably mounted entirely within said receiving channeland along the longer arm of said supporting structure, and securingmeans engageable With the back of said supporting structure and theshorter arm of said clamping member for securing the wiping elementwedgingly therebetween when the clamping member is moved transversely ofthe longer arm of said structure, said securing means having one endterminating within the channel of said clamping member.

5. In a cleaning device of the character described, an elongated wipingelement, an elongated channel-shaped holder therefor, an elongatedchannel-shaped clamping member having outwardly extending diverging armsadaptedto be mounted entirely within the channel of said holder, andsecuring means projecting from the back of said holder and engaging theback of said clamping member for wedgingly securing said wiping elementtherebetween, said securing means having one free end which terminateswithin the channel of said clamping member.

6. In a cleaning device of the character described, an elongated wipingelement, a U-shaped holder having a channel extending longitudinallythereof, a U-shaped clamping member having outwardly extending armsforming a channel extending longitudinally thereof, and means having onefree end for securing the back of said holder and the back of saidclamping member for Wedgingly securing said wiping element therebetween,the free end of said securing means terminating within the channel ofsaid clamping member.

HERMAN SIEMUND.

